


Put Me Back Together

by Eyeball_Eating_Fingerlicking_Good



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Addiction, Ardyn being helpful, Brotherhood, Chocobros - Freeform, Naga, Poor Prompto Argentum, Secrets, Withdrawal
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-27
Updated: 2018-03-10
Packaged: 2019-03-24 17:22:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13815879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eyeball_Eating_Fingerlicking_Good/pseuds/Eyeball_Eating_Fingerlicking_Good
Summary: After the incident with the Naga, Prompto hasn’t been the same.  He wanted to tell the others but instead, he told the one person that he never expected to tell.. Or relate to.  And now he doesn’t know how he will tell the others.  Slight AU as the order of events are changed just a bit.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Music that inspired this - Karmina : All the Kings Horses. 
> 
> This idea came across from a form of addiction I struggled with and the incident with the Naga where Prompto was taken by the creature... The events in the game go a bit out of order here but it works for the story.

Prompto left the RV quietly and took a couple of deep breathes. The night air cooled his body inside and out. He needed to calm himself. The trip to the disk was making his nervous. They hadn’t been on a hunt and the craving to hunt something down was making him be on edge. They had to follow Ardyn that would lead them to the disc and to Noctis destiny. He closed his eyes and tried to take in deeper breaths. Small tremors rippled through his body. He hugged his body close for warmth and looked into the distance. The dark road leads to daemons. He needed a daemon.

_Just one daemon_

_Just one_..

_One to hunt._

_One to be kept alive enough to…_

_Just one…_

Prompto shook his head and took in a couple more breathes. No. He couldn’t. No one had suspected anything. Yet his body was betraying him. He felt his heartbeat beating inside his head. The drumming sound echoed in his mind as if he didn’t even have a brain inside. Maybe he didn’t have a brain. Maybe it was already liquid. Right now all his body was craving was… He knew what he needed and knew he was going to go insane until he…

“What a lovely night. If you close your eyes and listen well, you can hear daemons roaming around.” Ardyn appeared right beside Prompto. Ardyn was fully clothed in all his ridiculous layers yet Prompto knew at least he was warm.

“Yeah. I guess.” Prompto tried to ignore the older man beside him but there was something in his body that craved his attention. Prompto began to feel an itch on his arms. Looking down at them, he could already see the skin full of red marks already done by his nails. He shivered a bit and tried to ignore the itch.

“You are keeping a secret arent you?” Ardyn removed his fedora and placed it on Prompto's head. Unwrapping his scarf he wrapped the fabric around Prompto's neck.

“You don’t even know me… “ Prompto huffed a bit but almost melted from the warmth of the scarf. The itch continued though. It seemed it got worse from the warm blood flow through his body. Ardyn pulled on the scarf and drew the boy close to him.

“You can smell it on my clothes can’t you.” Ardyn smiled and was close enough to Prompto to count the freckles on his face.

“I… “ Prompto kept his wrist hidden but noticed Ardyn take a small flask out. The secret was hidden. At least that one was safe. Prompto watched with anticipation as Ardyn twisted the cap and placed the open flask up to Promptos nose. The aroma was intoxicating. He actually whimpered. He wanted it. He wanted it all. He needed it.

“Hunting daemons it seems you were curious about one. Has no one ever told you never feed on one?” Ardyn teased him a bit.

“I didn’t have a choice…” Prompto turned his head away from the flask but his eyes never left from eyeing the open metal container.

“What is your story? Someone doesn’t just stumble on feeding on daemon blood… “ Ardyn placed his tongue on the open container and tilted the flask up. A red circle was stained on his tongue and licking his own lips, Prompto had wished that was his tongue.  He took in a breath and began to tell Ardyn his secret.

.  
.  
.

  
Prompto looked down the dark cave. He almost laughed at the idea. A cave within a cave in a deeper cave. Fociaugh Hollow lived up to its name. Hollow and dark and just… Prompto couldn’t wait till they were finished here. He sensed something was going to happen as soon as they stepped inside. He leaned in a bit too close to the side and when he felt the snake wrap around his waist it was already too late.

“Ahh!” Prompto yelled and tried to hold on to the side walls. He felt snake coil around his body, pinning his arms to his side and keeping him still. In a tight hold, he was brought down into the bottom of a cave and was held upright. His legs were kicking out into the air and came face to face with the daemon.

“My baby…” It spoke!  It spoke to him!!!

“Let me go!” Prompto yelled and tried to wiggle himself free. He needed his hands free to summon his weapon. Summon anything!

“Baby…” The Naga brought Prompto's face close to hers and smelled Prompto's hair. “Hungry baby…” It pulled Prompto away and dragged him to a section of the cave that had rotting daemon parts. Daemons would normally disappear upon death. It almost seemed as someone had fed it… parts? Prompto didn’t have time to think about it more when he saw the creature pick up a limb of a daemon and hold it in its mouth. The Naga shook it and pieces were being ripped away until there was a large enough piece being held in its mouth.

“No… No! Not hungry. Not hungry!“ Prompto realized it wasn’t feeding itself. The Naga turned to feed him. Prompto turned his face away and tried to keep his mouth closed. The daemon brought him close and placed the rotting limb to Prompto's face. Squeezing his body more, he couldn’t hold out any longer. He cried out in pain. It was enough time for the daemon to place the limb into Prompto's mouth.

Rotting flesh and blood entered Prompto's mouth and he began to gag. He tried to spit it out but the daemon kept feeding him. Ripping flesh apart it kept shoving the pieces into Prompto's mouth. The coagulated blood burns down into his throat. Prompto could feel his stomach began to turn. He could feel the blood come back up his throat and when he was ready to heave…. His body began to change. He swallowed. He looked up at the daemon that was feeding him and with tears in his eyes, he opened his mouth for more.

.  
.  
.

 

“I couldn’t stop. I wanted it. I… Noctis yelled out for me and it let me go… I’m not ok.” Prompto sighed.

“Such a tragic situation.” Ardyn shook his head and seemed to take pity on the young boy in front of him. “You have no idea what has happened, do you? You are in danger…”

“What do you mean?” Prompto gave him a puzzled look. “Danger of what exactly?”

“You are going through withdraws. You and I have more in common then you would like to think. There is no reversing the process. If you do not feed your body anymore, you will die.”

“That isn’t true… “ He could feel his heartbeat beat faster in his head. The noise was too loud. He could feel his eyes twitch to the beat. Everything inside him felt that was going to explode.

_Here lays Prompto, who exploded and became a puddle._

“I had a similar experience. Is why I carry this. Your body at first felt great. Stronger. Invincible. Every thought came easy… ”

 

 

_“Being helpful for a change.”_

 

_“Way to go Prompto”_

 

  
“The craving begins after a day. You become restless and start to think about feeding. Yet everything tastes different. The advisor is an excellent chef yet the food he prepares begins to be tasteless. You crave meat. You crave daemon…Your reflex starts to suffer. Your body is barely on its own feet. ”

 

_“Let's celebrate by eating something dead.”_

 

_“Wake up Prompto!”_

 

“Your body begins to twitch. You can not keep still. Your nerves never stop stimulating. Your head starts pounding like your heart has taken up residence up in your skull. The last stages of this tragic story is that you lose your mind. You began to hallucinate and… die.” Ardyn finished while he held the flask up to Prompto's lips. He teased the pink lips by resting the metal opening on the soft flesh. Taking the flask away, he watched Prompto body shiver.

“No. I can’t let Noctis down… I can’t die just yet. Not like this anyway….“ Prompto shook his head. He couldn’t believe his luck. He was going to lose his mind before he just falls over and dies. Tears began to fall down his cheeks and tried to push the flask away. His hands held onto Ardyns hands firmly. His hand began to shake uncontrollably. He looked up and saw Gladio holding the flask. He shook his head and saw Ardyn.

“Are you hallucinating someone else arent you. I am here only to help. I know what you want and you can keep this. Until you can refill your supply. What would happen if you failed your dear Prince in battle… They are all counting on you.” Ardyn image shifted once more. This time it was King Regis looking at him. “You are still needed. You need to stand by the Prince… He needs you.”

Prompto took the flask and his soul screamed to drop it.

 

**Get rid of it!**

**It's poison!**

**STOP!**

 

Prompto tilted the flask to empty the content but stopped when he saw the first drop fall. It landed slowly on the ground and suddenly the smell came up very fast.

_Need it._

**No, you don’t**..

_Need it!_

**No…, please**

NEED IT!

**Yes... I NEED IT!!!!!**

His body was winning. His hands brought the flask up to his lips and tilted it up at his mouth. As soon as the blood touched his tongue, his eyes grew wide. His vision blurred and quickly came back to focus. He stood straight and felt his body relax. He began to drink until the flask was empty. He dropped the flask and began to breathe heavily.

“That should last you for a few days. I am here to help when ever you need it.” Ardyn bowed and returned back to the RV where the others were still asleep. Prompto felt the blood rush through his body and up to his head. Everything felt better. Everything was back to normal. He leaned on the RV and sighed. Prompto never saw the grin Ardyn had when he entered the RV.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It all started with an itch.

The itch appeared right when they had reached Fort Valluerey. While listening to Ignis come up with a plan, his wrist began to itch? It was a weird sensation. He didn’t know how he was going to explain this… His wrist had never itched before like this. Before his hands were twitching when he spoke to Ardyn. Now it was an itch. He wanted to bite down on his skin to make the itch go away. What made the painless was the fact he was close to the campfire. The burning sensation against his skin made it feel better.

“Place some on your skin. It should soothe your itch.” Ignis took a seat next to Prompto and held out a small container of salvia.

“Eh?” Prompto was confused a bit. He slowly took the container slowly and wondered if Ignis suspected….

“We passed some poisonous plants and while you did not ingest any, you must have brushed up against one.” Ignis adjusted his glasses on his face. He raised an eyebrow when he saw Prompto let out a deep sigh. “Unless you did ingest some?”

“Oh no. No. I mean I would rather starve then have these taste buds taste something that wasn’t your cookin.” Prompto cheered up. “Thanks, Iggy.” Prompto stood up and stretched his arms. “Nature calls.” Prompto winked and rushed to take care of business.

Hiding behind a rock he took in another deep breathe. That was close. The itch on his wrist had now crawled up to his elbow. Maybe it was what Ignis had said. Maybe it was just a poisonous plant he brushed up against. He hopes it was just that. He placed some of the balm on his arms and felt the coolness instantly. It did help for 2 seconds. Then the itchiness had returned. He felt his arms were covered in ants and biting him over and over. There was nothing in his mind that screamed a normal reaction from a plant. His fingers started to shake. He made a small fist and tried to squeeze out the twitch with no success.

It was starting again.

Prompto knew he couldn’t scratch his arms. With his sleeveless attire, it would cause more attention. He remembered something he had read before.

_…His leg broke and screamed in pain. A man told him he could make his leg stop from hurting. The man broke the finger and the man cried out again. Bastard broke my finger and it hurt. The man smiled and said took the pain from your leg away, didn’t I?_

Prompto closed his eyes and bit the inside of his cheek hard. The coppery blood against his teeth felt weird as if his body was asking for the other kind of blood. The pain coming from his cheek dulled the itch. If he added pressure each time he felt an itch, he knew he could stop himself from scratching. Yet he didn’t know how long this would work. It worked before until he met Ardyn and… told him it was due to his need for the daemon blood.

_Survive._

_Not need._

_It was for Survival._

_He is not an addict!_

_NOT HIS FAULT!_

He needed it to survive. He convinced himself what had happened was something out of his control. Now what he needed it for was to stay alive. Enough until his job on protecting Noctis was over. Still the idea of sharing his condition was something he did not want to reveal yet. They might think he was unworthy to be part of the group. They would never accept an daemon blood drinker... Let alone a Niff with…

“Shake it dry, let's go!” Gladio shouted towards Prompto.

“Be there in a jiffy!” Prompto answered back and placed the balm into his pocket. Adjusting his vest he ran up to Gladio and looked around. “Where is everyone?”

“They went off ahead as planned. We are to cause a distraction. Were you even awake?” Gladio crossed his arms.

“Just kidding big guy. Come on… let's go cause a riot!” Prompto laughed it off and ran towards the fort.

The fight in the fort was everything they had expected. Explosions and Mts and… his life almost came apart when Aranea came from the sky and they all had a hand in battling her. Her lance had landed hard on the ground near Prompto and she had jumped right on top of him, knocking him to the ground.

“You… well… what do we have here?” “ Aranea seemed to look right through him. She knew something was wrong with him. She knew he was not normal. She knew that… His mind was overreacting while she stared at him.

“Prompto!” Noctis was yelling at him..

“Prompto…” Iris' voice?

“YO PROMPTO WAKE UP!” Gladio yelled and kicked the seat in front of him.

Prompto sat up fast. He had fallen asleep on the door edge of the Regalia. They had arrived at Cape Caem with Iris late at night. Everything they came here for could wait till morning. Noctis was asleep in the back seat and had the rude wake up from his shield. Exiting the car, Prompto rubbed his elbow and shoulder. One would mistake it for soreness but it was much more than that. His hands were shaking more and more. He kept them hidden inside his vest pocket, claiming that he was just cold. His cheeks were painfully swollen from the inside. He couldn’t bite down on them anymore.

Talcott was talking to them about resting in one of the rooms there at Caem but all Prompto could hear was the thumping of his heart. It was drowning his senses. This was it. This was the end right?. He could feel his heart beat faster in his chest. He could feel his heart wanting to escape his body through his throat. He rubbed his elbow harder and harder. Was he going to melt right here in front of everyone? All that would be found was his clothes in melted flesh and blood.

**Blood…**

_He needed it._

_To survive right?_

**Blood.**

“Did the balm help?” Ignis snapped Prompto out of his daydream meltdown. Prompto looked at Ignis and noticed the others in the room were staring at him as well. Ignis had taken his arm and looked at his elbow. “You keep scratching it and it will get infected.” Infection was least of his worries.

“Oh yea.. It helped a bit. I lost it and…” Prompto explained and watched Ignis hold up another balm.

“Always prepared.” Ignis applied some of the cream to the gunner's elbow.

“Mama Iggy to the rescue” Noctis smiled, making Iris laugh.

“Mums the word”

“So wheres Gladio?” Prompto leads the conversation away from his health and noticed the big guy wasn’t in the room.

“Boy are you out of it.” Noctis teased and shook his head in disbelief.

“He had other matters that needed his attention,” Ignis answered and looked Prompto over.

“Hey you know I was just kidding. Trying to milk out all the sympathy I can. Aranea sure does hit hard.” Prompto rubbed his head, covering again for his lack of attention to the things around him.

“Is that why Ignis made curry last night?” Noctis looked at Ignis.

“He was hurt.” Ignis replied as he poked around Prompto’s head for any injury.

“Ow.. I think… my head still hurts. Might.. Need… more curry..” Prompto faked his pain. He was pretty good at putting an act so everyone could leave him alone. It was easier to act than to accept reality at times.

“He is fine… we should all get some rest.” Ignis sighed and watched Iris and Talcott leave the room.

It didn’t take long for Noctis to fall right to sleep. They were lucky enough to have a bed each to sleep in but Prompto couldn’t enjoy the moment. He had to do something about his craving. He didn’t want to explode and have his friends find him. Maybe he could drown himself in the ocean and… have them remember him for how he was. Not a puddle of flesh. His brain was telling him he couldn’t keep this up any longer. He wasn’t going to turn into a blood drinking daemon non-human monster! He was a Lucian. A Lucian!

Prompto knew Ignis routine when it came to sleeping. Ignis would always check to make sure they were all covered for warmth and went to lay himself down. He would lay on his back for about 10 minutes and then turn to his right. A sign that Ignis was sleeping. Prompto stayed in bed for a few minutes and once he heard soft snoring from the advisor, he made his way out of the room. He took one look back at his friends. He is so going to miss his life.

Climbing down the stairs, he quietly made his way outside and he walked towards the lighthouse by the hilltop edge. Each step caused his joints to ache. Each step caused his muscles so spaz and his body was shaking. If he was going to die now, he would want to look out at the terrain before…

Walking towards the lighthouse to spend his final moments he heard a noise. A loud growl in the distance. Prompto knew that growl and his body instantly reacted. He ran to the rail at the hill he was on and looked down towards the beach. The red glow was a dead give away. A large daemon carried his fire blade around with other daemons trailing behind it. Prompto felt his body move forward. He was no longer in control of his craving. He was simply a passenger in his own body. The thought of drowning in the ocean was replaced by hunger.

He hid behind a rock near the beachside and watched the iron giant walk away. His target though was on the smaller daemons around. Goblins hopped around the iron giant, almost annoying the larger daemon with their antics. The giant kicked a few out of its way and Prompto noticed one being injured. Like a predator hunting its prey, Prompto zoned into the injured weaker one.

His mouth watered.

He was starving.  
  
_Just this once._

_Just to survive._

_Just to help Noctis._

_Yes. This was for Noctis._

_Just…._ **FEED!!!**

Prompto made a noise he had never heard before. All his craving rushed into his head. He needed to do this..

He never knew how he grabbed the goblin.

He never knew how he came back to his hiding space.

He never knew when he tore the daemon apart and began to feed.

He never knew when he went for another Goblin...

And another.  
  
And another.

He never knew… he could feel this alive.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I love Ardyn too much. hehehe. Thank you for reading!!!! Kudos and comments always welcomed with tacos.


End file.
